As the American metaphorical saying goes, an optimist will make lemonade out of lemons. He or she will take a bad situation and turn it into something positive. That's taking lemons (bad) and making lemonade (good). I have seen this over and over with our students at Great Neck South High School. They turn a negative event or series of events into an opportunity and a lesson learned. Let me give you an example: I have helped students with and read several student-written memoirs in which these young people have converted past obstacles or adverse experiences into personalized essays which end up representing the people they have become. One had to deal with a very painful punctured eardrum; another, with a brain tumor. In each case, the teenager demonstrated, in his or her memoir, that he or she has become a stronger person as a result of past difficulties, that obstacles or challenges are made to be faced and overcome - and that is a good sign for that person's future, because life contains a series of challenges to be faced and defeated. There's no doubt that a college admissions officer, reading one of these memoirs, is thinking: This is someone I want at my college. This is someone who will not fall apart when things get tough. This is someone who is capable of taking a bunch of lemons and making some great-tasting lemonade out of them!

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The ideas on this page come from a Study Center teacher with almost 50 years of teaching experience. More importantly, these entries have NO LIFE until you students write comments and share your ideas and your responses to the ideas presented. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Let yourself be heard.